Hoop-shaving machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

J. PRINCE.

HOOP SHAVING MACHINE.

Patented Jul INVENTEIR WITNEESES Z /M (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. PRINCE.

HOOP SHAVING MACHINE.

. Patented July 28; 1885.

WITNESSES k PETERS, Photv-Lithognphan Wlthingiolk D C UNITED STATES FFICE.

PATENT HOOP-SHAVING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 322,967, dated July 28, 1885.

Application filed March 30, 1885.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OHN PRINCE, of West Randolph, in the county of Orange and State of Vermont, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hoop-Shaving Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a practical hoop-shaving machine, and one that shall be automatic and rapid in its action and possess important advantages, as hereinafter described, over the hoop-shaving machine for which Letters Patent of the United States, No. 274,029, dated March 13, 1883, were granted to me.

My improved machine consists of a reciprocating carriage provided at each end with a clutch mechanism for grasping the hoops at the end of each motion,au tomatically operated by suitable stops on the frame; of suitable improved knives, (for which I have made aseparate application for Letters Patent of the United States, and described in a specification of even date herewith,) automatically opened and closed; of suitable springs for guiding the hoop as it is drawn between the knives for shaving; of suitable springs .to allow the clutch to adapt itself to various thicknesses of-hoops; of a clutch mechanism capable of automatically locking and unlocking itself; of air-cushions to relieve the shock of the rapidly-reciprocating carriage at each end of its travel; of certain dogs on levers, which prevent the hoop entering the gearing of the machine and thrust it out when finished; of a mechanism to change the continuity of the edges of the knives, and of mechanism for shipping the belts to obtain the reverse movement of the carriage.

The principal improvemen ts over my former machine consist in making the machine doub1eacting, so that there is no lost motion, ahoop being cut in both directions of the reciprocating motion of the carriage; in the improved construction of the clutching mechanism,whereby the j aws are automatically locked and unlocked, and in adding thereto a spring adjustment; in providing an air-cylinder and piston which act as cushions to reduce .the shock of the sudden stoppage of the reciprocating carriage; in providing guide- (No model.)

springs adapted to hoops of different shapes; in a shipping mechanism specially adapted to the reciprocating motion of the carriage;in the dogs above mentioned; in an improved adjusting device for setting-contiguity of the edges of the knives, and in providing bearings for the reciprocating carriage to move on, whereby thefriction produced by the movement of the carriage is reduced to a minimum amount.

Reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures Figure 1 is a plan view of the entire machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the entire machine. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the carriage and its attending working parts. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of theknives and holders. Fig. 5 is a plan view of knives and springs. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the springs.

To the frame A of the machine I secure the horizontal parallel beams B B, between which the reciprocating carriageOis held and moved. This carriage is, by preference, operated by a pinion, D, meshing with a rack, (1, formed upon or secured to the under side of the carriage. gutting the beam upon which the carriage moves, and the great friction produced by direct contact of the whole of the carriage upon the beam on which it moves, by using the bearings X, as shown in Fig. 2.

The clutch E, which grasps the hoops to be shaved and draws them between the knives g h, is composed of the plate a, bolted to the carriage O, the lever a, hinged to the said plate a, and the lever f, which is pivoted to the long arm of the lever e at one end and to the long rod I at the other end.

A pin, on the lever f operates the lever K by means of a slot, 7a. This lever K is pivoted at k to the carriage-frame, and has a rod, la", pivoted to it, which passes through a rubber spring, 8, and has lock-nuts on the other side of the carriage-frame. Against the outer end of the spring is a metal plate. The rod 10 is free to slide into the hole in the carriage-frame, through which it passes, and thus permits the spring to be compressed. This I avoid the necessity of a notch, M.

clutch mechanism is operated by means of a stop, L, provided with a roller-bearing, Z, fixed to the frame of the machine, against which roller-bearing the lever f strikes as the carriage approaches each end of the machine, forcing the jaws of the clutch to close upon the hoop. The rubber spring 8 acts by its compression to reduce the strain upon the operative parts and to enable the jaws to grasp different thicknesses of hoops, the jaws being set so that they just come together without having any special bite till the action of the spring 8 causes them to grasp the hoop.

In the slot 7.: of the-lever K will be noticed Into this the pin f slips as the jaws clutch the hoop, and firmly holds the jaws in position until the carriage reaches the other end of the machine, and the pin f is thrown out of the notch by the movement of the lever f from the motion communicated to it by the rod I, which receives it from the leverf coming in contact with the stop L at the other end of the machine.

To obtain acushion to relieve the shock of the carriage at the end of its travel I usea piston, P, attached to a rod, 1), which is adjustable by means of a screw-thread cut on it and two nuts, 1) p This piston is mounted in a frame, which is secured to the frame of the carriage. Secured to the stationary frame is an air-cushion, B, into which the piston P is forced, compressing the air at each reciprocation of the carriage.

The guide-springs Q are an improvement.

over the ones shown in my former patent, in that they are adapted for use in connection with a half-round or barked blank or hoop, and also with aquarter-round blank orhoop, the blanks out of which the hoops are made often being got by splitting a round growth of wood with the bark on into hemi or quarter spheres. The

,hemi or quarter sphere blanks are presented to the guidesprings so that the round or bark side comes in contact with Q". and the heartside is firmly gripped by Q. By this contraction of the guide-springs the block is firmly held and continuously guided.

A pair of knives, g and h, are held in position at each end of the machine, by any suitable means, at an acute angle to each other, at about the relative position shown in Fig. 3, These knives may be similar to those shown in my former patent; but I prefer to have the knives described in the application above mentioned. I have shown therein a pair of knives which are not duplicates. One of them has astraight edge, and the other a concave edge. This causes the hoop produced to be fiat on one side and convex on the other side. I can also, by setting the knife with the concave edge slightly out of perpendicular, cause the hoop to be made thicker on one edge than on the other, which is a desirable feature when the hoops are to be used on articles increasing, as a cone, in circumference.

\ In Fig. 3 the knives would be arranged so that h would be the knife with the concave edge, and g, the knife with the straight edge.

I have shown in Fig. 4 in detail a knife, h, and its holder h, the knife being held in the socket of the holder by the screw h". The knives in both Figs. 4 and 5 showa double bevel, and the manner in which the blank I) is presented to be shaved is shown in Fig. 5. The screws h and g are used by their pressure to vary the angle of the knives.

The plates T T, carrying the knives, are constructed and attached to the machine as in my former patent. Each knife-plate has two arms. as shown in Fig. 2. t t, to which are secured, by bolts through the holes t the knives. The bolts q q attach the springs Q, to the plates T T. I tie the plates T T together, as

in my former patent; but instead of a wedge to regulate the contiguity of the edges of the knives, I now use a screw, 1', whose action is more clearly shown in my k nife-patent above mentioned.

The k nife-operating bar G has wedge-shaped ends J to open and shut the knives by entering a slotted bar, d, as in my former patent, and is operated back and forward by the end of the carriage coming in contact with the shoulders or projections g thereon.

All the parts described are precisely duplicated at each end of the machine.

The pinion D is run by means of the belts pinion, by means of the shipping mechanism N n a, the lever N being given a backward and forward movement by having its end loosely fixed in a slotin the rod G. It is highly important that the lever N be not rigidly attached to the rod G, and that it have a little play, that it may not operate too soon to reverse the motion before the knives are adj usted and the hoop firmly clutched. The shipping mechanism consists of the lever N, having two arms, each having clamped or pivoted thereto a shoe, for grasping the belt, one, a, extending on the upper side of the pulleys, and grasping the belt H, the other, 72, extending on the under side of the pulleys and grasping the belt H. These arms are rigidly connected to the lever, and the whole pivoted at n to the frame of the machine.

The dogs WV, which are thrown up and down as the carriage reciproeates, simply prevent the hoops from entering the gearing of the machine, asthey are likely to do when the machine is operated with great rapidity. The dogs WV, as the carriage passes from under them, drop and knock out the finished hoops from the clutch.

The machine being operated at both ends, blanks are fed through the springs and knives to the clutch as the carriage comes to each end, so that a hoop is shaved with every motion of the carriage.

The blanks at one end are fed aboutthe time the carriage reaches the limit of its motion at the other end, as at this time the knives and springs at that end are opened by the carriage having come in contact With the projection g on the bar G, which draws the wedge J out of its slot at one end, and at the same time thrusts it into its slot at the other end, so that while the knives are being opened at one end they are closed into position at the other.

As the carriage reaches the projection g, the lever f comes in contact with the roller-bearing L and causes, by its movement, the clutch to grip the blank and become locked, while the rod I communicates its motion to the clutch system at the other end, unlocks it, and releases the finished hoop. 'Thereupon the belts are shipped and the operation repeated at the other end.

The shipping-lever N is operated by the movement of the bar G, and is so connected thereto, as described, that the belts are shipped just as the knives have shut and the clutch has grasped the hoop.

This machine is entirely automatic after the blanks are fed to it, and is capable of the greatest speed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In ahoop-shavin g machineprovided with a reciprocating carriage having at each end a clutching mechanism for grasping a hoopblank, two sets of shaving-knives located in knife-plates and automatically opened and set at each end of the machine by the action of the reciprocating carriage on the project-ions of a rod connected with the plates bearing said knives, substantially as described.

2. In ahoop-shaving machine provided with a reciprocating carriage, a clutching mechanism for grasping the hoop-blanks, consisting of the clutch E, the lever f, connected to the slotted lever K, which is pivoted to the frame of the carriage, and also connected thereto by a spring-bearing rod, said mechanism being operated by the motion of the reciprocating carriage, to which it is attached, by bringing the leverf in contact with a stop, L, on the frame of the machine, substantially as described.

3. In a hoop-shaving machine, the belt-shipping mechanism consisting of the lever N, pivoted at a to the frame of the machine, provided at one end with the arms a at, having shoes for grasping the belt, and having its other end loosely fixed in a slot in the knifeoperating rod G, in combination with said combination with a stop or bearing located at each end on the frame of the machine, the said levers being, by the motion of the reciprocating carriage, alternately brought in contact with the said stops, whereby the said clutches are simultaneously shut and opened, substantially as described.

5. In a hoop-shaving machine provided with a reciprocating carriage, the dog W", pivoted to the frame of the machine. in combination with the reciprocating carriage, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. In a hoop-shaving machine provided with a reciprocating carriage, the dog WV, pivoted to the frame of the machine, in combination with a reciprocating carriage having a clutching mechanism on its end, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7 In ahoop-shaving machine provided with a reciprocating carriage, and having at each end a set of knives located in knife-plates, a bar provided with wedge -shaped ends and connected with said knife-plates and having projections near each end, and also a slot in it for a loose connection with the arm-lever of the belt-shipping mechanism, in combination with the reciprocating carriage operated by a rack and a pinion connected by a shaft to the prime power, whereby the movement in one direction of the said bar actuated by the contact of the said carriage on one of the said projections simultaneously causes the knifebearing plates at one end to open and at the other end to be set, and the arm-lever of the belt-shipping mechanism to reverse the belts on the pulleys of the shafting governing the motion of the reciprocating carriage, substantially as described.

8. In a hoop-shaving machine, the clutch E, thelever f, pivoted to the rod I, and connected by the pin j to the slotted lever K, notched at M, pivoted at to the frame, in combination with a spring, 8, on the rod is, pivoted at one end to the lever K, and secured at its other end to the frame, whereby a hoop-blank is firmly held while being shaved and automatically released thereafter, substantially as described.

9. In a hoop-shaving machine, consisting of a frame, A, provided with a reciprocating carriage, 0, having at each end a clutch, E, operated by levers f and K, and connected together'through the levers f by the rod I, the stops L, the air-cushion R and its piston P, arranged as described, in combination with a rod, G, provided with wedge-shaped ends, operating on the knife-bearing plates at each end of the machine and loosely connected with the belt-shipping lever N, the said rod G having projections g for communicating the motion of the reciprocating carriage to it, whereby the reciprocating carriage automatically operates the device which clutches and releases the hoop-blank, and, through the rod G, the knifebearing plates and the lever which reverses the bearings which operate the machine, so that while the machine is in operation at one end it automatically discharges work at the other end and adjusts itself for'action, substantially as described.

10. In a hoop-shaving machine, a clutch for l I11 witness whereof I have hereunto set my IO grasping a hoop-blank, in combination with hand. a spring connected to and operating on said clutch through a rod connected to a pivoted JOHN PRINCE. 5 slotted lever, which communicates its pressure to one arm of the clutch by a connecting-lever, I Vitnesses:

whereby the clutch, automatically adapting \VM. B. H. DOWsE,

itself to various thicknesses of hoops, firmly ALBERT \V. SPEAR.

grasps the same, substantially as described. 

